Updates

Floridians For Honest Lending Urges Legislature to Take Consumer-Focused Approach to Insurance Reform

The consumer lending watchdog group Floridians For Honest Lending and the insurance reform group Federal Association For Insurance Reform (FAIR) released an educational video about short-term and long-term solutions to fix Florida’s broken property insurance market. The video is part of a series about the increased risk of foreclosures if the Legislature fails to provide stability to Florida’s property insurance marketplace.

Homeowner Bill of Rights Introduced

Homeowner Bill of Rights Introduced

As reported in Florida Politics, Sen. Ileana Garcia and Rep. Juan Fernandez-Barquin held a news conference in the Capitol on Monday to unveil legislation designed to protect Floridians from predatory foreclosure practices.

Nearly 300,000 Florida Households Behind on Mortgage Payments

Nearly 300,000 Florida Households Behind on Mortgage Payments

Census Data Shows Nearly 1 Million Florida Households With No or Slight Confidence in their Ability To Pay Next Month’s Mortgage

Recent data from the US Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey shows that there are more than 6.3 million households in the United States that are not current on their mortgage payments, and nearly 300,000 of those are in the state of Florida. 

A 91-Year-Old Risks Losing His Home Over $20

A 91-Year-Old Risks Losing His Home Over $20

At 91, José Torrado faces the possibility of losing his home over a $20 discrepancy. His bank, Bank of New York Mellon, attempted to foreclose on his home, claiming he did not have proper homeowners insurance, even after Mr. Torrado provide proof of insurance, sending him confusing claims that Mr. Torrado did not understand.

A wave of foreclosures is coming. Floridians need protection from predatory lenders | Opinion

A wave of foreclosures is coming. Floridians need protection from predatory lenders | Opinion

The moratorium on foreclosures of government-backed mortgage loans ended June 30, and those of us who see the foreclosure system up close are worried.

Why? We see day in and day out how easy it is for mortgage lenders and servicers to wrongly toss people from their homes — and sometimes illegally. A decade after major banks paid a $25 billion settlement for predatory mortgage practices, many of the same practices are still taking place.

We’re not talking about deadbeats trying to avoid their debts. We’re talking about neighbors, family members and friends trying to do the right thing and keep a roof over their head after running into financial trouble, especially during the pandemic shutdown. An estimated 10 million Americans are behind in their mortgage payments, and 1.8 million are 90 days past due, four times as many as before the pandemic.